William mason



mo Model.) l

MASGN.v

BREEGH LUADINGPIRBARM. 4 No.24'7,3'78. Patented Sept. 20,1881

p l UNITED STATES PATENT Farce,

4YllfILLIAM vrMASON, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE COLTS PATENT .FIRE-ARMS MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

BREECH-LODING FIRE-ARM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 247,378, dated September 20, 1881.

Application lcd July 14, 1881.

Toall 'whom it may concern:

lBe it known that I, WM. MASON, of Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, haveinvented a new Improvement iuBreech-Loading Fire-Arms; and I do hereby 'declare the following, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings andthe letters of reference marked thereon, to he a full, clear, and exact description ot' the same, and which said dra-wings constitute part of this specification, and represent, in-

Figure 1, a longitudinal sectional view, the parts in their place of rest; Fig. 2, the same view with the barrels tilted; Fig. 3, the same view as in Fig. l with the arm as in thc cocked position Fig. 4, a transverse section of the lever. I This invention relates to an improvement il that class of breech-loading lire-arms in which the barrel or barrels are arranged to tilt up at the breech for the insertion of the cartridge, and particularly to that class of such arms in which the ham-mer is arranged within the receiver, and commonly called concealed hammers,77 the object of the invention bein g to cock the hammer as the barrels are tilted, also to partially apply the pressure ofthe mainspriu g, and then, in the return of the barrels, complete that pressure; and it consists in combining with the tilting barrels and concealed hammer a lever hung upon a pivot between the hammer and the pivot on which the barrels turn, one arm extending to the hammer to engage it forl. ward of its pivot, the other arm extending for- Ward. and engaging the barrels forward of their pivot, so that thetilting barrel will depress the (No model.)

D is thehammer, hung upon aplvot, a', within the receiver, and so as to strike through therecoil-plate or upon the firing-pin therein, and provided with a sear, E, all in the usual and well-known manner. The usual pivoton which the barrels turn is indicated in broken lines in the drawings.

The receiver is constructed with a recess, F. forward ot' the hammer and through to the end ofthe arm B'. In this recess the cocking-lever i is hung upon apivot,(1, one arm, Il, extending toward the hammer and so as to engage bcneath the shoulder c on the hammer forward of its pivot, as seen in FigJ.. The other arm, L, extends forward and engages in a recess, f, in a projection, I, extending down from the barrels and forward ofthe pivot on which the barrels turn, so that as the barrels are tilted from the position seen in Fig. l to that in Fig. 2 the forward end ofthe lever, being forward of thc pivot ot' the barrels, is depressed, which causes the rear end to rise, and that end, being in engagement with the hammer, turns the hammer to full-cock, as seen in Fig. 2. The lever L is recessed upon its under side, as seen in Figf4. The mainspring is arrangedin this recess. This mainspring is of the usual V shape. One end,h,takesits seat directly on the lever, the other, fi, on a seat, n, formed on a projection of the hammer which extends forward for that purpose, as seen in Fig. l, and should be forward of the point where the lever engages the hammer.

As the barrels are tilted the end I-I of the lever rises, carrying with it the hammer, as before described. Themovementof the hammer 85 carries up the ende' of the mainspriug, and, being forward ofthe point where the leverenp gages the hammer, that end of the mainsprng moves 1,roportionately faster than the lever, and to the extent that it thus moves faster the 9o spring is compressed, as seen in Figx. Then,A when the barrel is returned, the other cud ot' the spring is pressed down, as seen in Fig. 3, completing the application o'f the spring and taking the lever out of the way ot' the hammer, 95 'so as to leave it free for discharge.

In order to cover the forward end ofthe recess F, within which the lever is placed, thc

lever isconstructed with a projection, m, on

its upper side, forming a shoulder corresponding to thc end ofthe receiver, as at r, and on the under side is asimilar proiection, s, forming a shoulder extending over the ibrward end, t, the extent ot' these projections being,r such, as shown, so that when theleveris up, as seen in Fig. 1, the lower partot' the openingis closed by the projection s, and when down the upper part of the recess is closed by the projection m, as seen in 2, and so that it is impossible for any foreign or disturbing substance to enter at that end ofthe recess F.

`."Vhile 1 prefer the arrangement of main- Bpring as shown and described, it will be evidentthat the mainspring mayY be otherwise applied, the operation ot' the lever to cock the.

' hammer remaining the same.

I do not broadly claim the arrangement ot' a lever in the receiver of a tilting-barrel tire-arm, so that the vtilting of the barrel will, through the action ol' the lever, cock the hammer; nor do I broadly claim such an arrangement when the lnainspring,r is arranged so that its force is partially applied in tilting the barrel, the application completed bythe return ot' the barrels, as such is shown in' my applications for Letters Patent filed May 12, 188i; but

- What I do claim is- 1. In a tilting-barrel lire-arm, the combination therewith ot a hammer-,a lever hung upon a pivot between the pivot ol' the hammer and the pivotfou which the barrels turn, one arm extending: rearward into engagement with the 4hammer forward ol' its pivot, the other extendingr forward into engagement with the barrel or barrels forward ot' their pivot, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. I n a tilting-barrel tire-arm, the combination therewith of a hammer, a lever hung upon a'pivot between the pivot ofthe hammer and the pivot on which the barrels turn, one arm extending rearward into engagement with the hammer forward of' its pivot, the otherenti'and-v ing forward into engagement with the barrel or barreletbrward oftheir pivot, and a tf-shaped mainspring one end of which is seated on the said lever, the other on the hammer forward of' its pivot. substantially as described.-

5. ln a tilting-barrel lire-arm, the combination therewith of a hammer, alever hung upon a pivot between the pivot ot' the hammer and the pivot on which the barrels turn, one arm extending rearward into engagement with the hanuner forward of its pivot, the other extending forward into engagement with the barrel or barrels forward of their pivot, the lever constructed with projections at its forward end to close `the end ot' the recess in which the lever is arranged, substantially as described.

WM. MASQN. Witnesses E. l. BonweLL, SAM mutige-Q 

